Programming service providers provide subscribers a large number of programs to select from, including movies, television programs, commercial programs, music, and other forms of data. A large number of programs may be aggregated together into one or more communicated streams of program content for delivery to the subscriber. The programming is typically delivered to a content receiving device using a suitable media delivery system, such as a cable system or a satellite system.
The content receiving device, referred to as a set top box (STB), is configured to deliver one or more selected programs to a media presentation device coupled to or within the STB. Nonlimiting examples of media presentation devices are televisions (TVs), personal computers (PCs), stereos, personal digital assistants (PDAs), surround-sound systems, and digital video recorders (DVRs). Particular programs may be selected by a user who provides program selection instructions to the STB. The selected program may then be presented to the user. For example, if the selected program is a movie, the video portion of the movie is displayed on a display of the TV, the PC, or the like. The audio portion of the movie may concurrently be presented over the speakers of the TV, the stereo, or the surround-sound system. In some instances, the selected program may be stored into a DVR or other recording device for later retrieval and presentation. The DVR may be an integrated component of the STB, or the DVR may be a stand-alone device that is communicatively coupled to the STB.
Controls are typically provided on the STB for the user to input their programming selections. Alternatively, or additionally, a remote control device may be in communication with the STB via a suitable wireless signal, such as a radio frequency (RF) signal or an infrared signal. Typically, the remote control device is a relatively small, hand-held unit. Some remote control devices are configured to control multiple devices and the STB. Some remote controls contain a buzzer or other alert device. Also, some remote control devices may include a small display thereon for presenting messages or other information to the user.
The remote control device is traditionally a one-way communication device wherein programming selection instructions, input by the user, are communicated to the STB via the wireless signal. For example, the user may select a programming channel by specifying a number or another suitable identifier associated with the programming channel that is delivering a program of interest. Upon selection of the programming channel, the program of interest associated with the selected programming channel is parsed from the received stream of programming content, and is then presented to the user on their TV and/or recorded on a DVR or the like.
As another example, the user may select a program of interest that is scheduled for presentation at a future time and/or date. The scheduled programming channel, and the time and/or the date of the program of interest, is typically presented to the user on a display in the form of an electronic program guide (EPG) that is presented on the display. The user may scroll through the EPG to until the program of interest is located on the EPG schedule, and then the user may select that program of interest for future presentation and/or recording by providing suitable commands to the STB using the remote control. Thus, a series of user input commands communicated from the remote control device to the STB allow the user to navigate through the EPG to locate and select the program of interest scheduled for future presentation. Other processes may be used to identify and select the program of interest for future presentation and/or recording.
In some media systems, the user may be reminded of the start of a program of interest, previously selected for presentation, by presentation of an icon, pop-up message, or the like on the display of their TV or media device. However, the user must be viewing the display to see the reminder notification presented on the display. If the user is not viewing the display when the reminder notification is presented, the user would miss the reminder notification, and accordingly, might miss the start of the program of interest.